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The revealed preferences of high technology acquirers: An analysis of the innovation characteristics of their targets

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  • Panos Desyllas
  • Alan Hughes

Abstract

This paper investigates whether acquisitions involving public high technology firms are best understood in terms of acquirers taking over firms with 'superior' innovation performance to access their assets, or acquiring firms with 'inferior' innovation performance to turn them around. Innovation performance is proxied by R&D-intensity (R&D expenditure over assets), patent-intensity (patents per US$million of assets), i.e. the R&D productivity of a firm's assets, and the patent stock, i.e. the accumulated R&D output. We find substantial overlaps between target and non-acquired firm characteristics. Nevertheless targets have a relatively high R&D-intensity and a large patent stock, which is consistent with acquirers targeting firms with a superior innovation performance. However, these targets have significantly lower pre-acquisition patent-intensity and hence a lower R&D productivity. The targets are also experiencing weak financial performance. Our results are consistent with a selection process in which acquirers seek out firms that have a superior past innovation performance, but that are failing in terms of recent R&D productivity and financial performance. A comparison of the performance of the targets with their acquirers reinforces this conclusion. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

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  • Panos Desyllas & Alan Hughes, 2009. "The revealed preferences of high technology acquirers: An analysis of the innovation characteristics of their targets," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(6), pages 1089-1111, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:33:y:2009:i:6:p:1089-1111
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bep004
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    Cited by:

    1. Verma, Shubham Kumar & Kumar, Satish, 2024. "Fractal dimension analysis of financial performance of resulting companies after mergers and acquisitions," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    2. Erik E. Lehmann & Manuel T. Schwerdtfeger, 2016. "Evaluation of IPO-firm takeovers: an event study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 921-938, December.
    3. Valérie Revest & Alessandro Sapio, 2016. "Graduation and sell-out strategies in the Alternative Investment Market," Discussion Papers 4_2016, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    4. Wagner, Marcus, 2011. "To explore or to exploit? An empirical investigation of acquisitions by large incumbents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1217-1225.
    5. Desyllas, Panos & Hughes, Alan, 2010. "Do high technology acquirers become more innovative?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1105-1121, October.
    6. Erik Lehmann & Thorsten Braun & Sebastian Krispin, 2012. "Entrepreneurial human capital, complementary assets, and takeover probability," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 37(5), pages 589-608, October.
    7. Yagi, Michiyuki & Managi, Shunsuke, 2018. "Shadow price of patent stock as knowledge stock: Time and country heterogeneity," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 43-61.
    8. Mohammad Keyhani & Yuval Deutsch & Anoop Madhok & Moren Lévesque, 2022. "Exploration-exploitation and acquisition likelihood in new ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1475-1496, March.
    9. Kaufmann, Mattheo & Schiereck, Dirk, 2023. "Acquiring for innovation: Evidence from the U.S. technology industry," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).

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